Variety (September 1957)

ee western series on television this. -year will result in the oaters be Wednesday, September 25, 1957. Congressional Vox P Members of Congress prefer NBC-TV’s news coverage and come mentators above all others, according toa survey taken for the network's o&o station in Washington, WRC-TV. . In probably the first Congressional vox pop. ever undertaken on television, Independent research outfit of Walter Gerson & Assoclates sént trained interviewers out to interview all 530 members of Congress, "Survey was based on local \D.C: viewing, -but NBC came out on top both locally and network-wise. Solons were asked during which time periods they watched. news most frequently, which station or network they watch most for news, which station or network gives them the most complete coverage and who are their three favorite commentators in order of preference, considering objectivity and general presentation. Most popular Senate-House viewing hour for news was the 6:30 to 8 p.m. period (34.9%), with 11 to 11:30 p.m. second (32.8%), though members of the House preferred the latter time period by a small margin. WRC-TV was the most frequently watched station for news, with 43.8%, .vs. 41.1% for GBS-TY’s affiliate, WIOP-TV. . (Senate, however, preferred WTOP-TV by a 51.6% count to 30.5% _for WRC-TV, with the House, with more members, swinging the final count to WRC-TV.) WMAL-TV was third with 12. 3% and WTTG fourth with 2.3%. -As to which station offers the most complete coverage, 48.9% .selected WRC-TV, as against 38.3% for. WTOP-TY, II. o% for WMAL-TV and 0.9% for WI'TG. Here again, the House showed the greater pro-NBC sentiment, with the Senate evenly divided at 45.3% each for WRC-TV. and WTOP-TYV. The “popularity contest” among newsmen ’ found . NBC’s Chet . Huntley-Dave Brinkley team on top with 176 votes, or 33.2%. ABC's John Daly was second, with 155 votes (29.2%), while CBS's Doug Edwards was third with 121 votes (22. 8%). Runners-up were NBC's Richard Harkness with 113 votes and 21.3%, ABC’s Bryson Rash with 66 votes ‘and 12.5% of the total,localities Joe McCaffrey UL7%), Don Richards (6.2%) and Matthew Warren. (5.8%), with _CBS early-morning newsmen Richard C. Hottlelet last with 4.2%, Desi Standing By With Flock Of . Comedies When & If Oaters T rampld By DAVE KAUFMAN Hollywood, Sept. 24. Convinced the preponderance of F amily Rivalry It’s a husband-and-wife battle -come Oct. 20, when Dinah Shore preems her “Chevy Show.” Playing opposite her on CBS-TV’s “General Electric Theatre” will be hubby George Montgomery, costarred with . John Agar in “The ‘Thousand Dollar Gun.” N. Y, TV Stations’ Profits Hit Peak $21,500,000 Mark Washington, Sept. 24, ing trampled to death, Desi Arnaz is preparing .four new situation comedy series for Desilu Produc-: tions, of which he is prexy and owner.. Terming the current heavy diet of hoss: operas “imbalanced programming,” Arnaz predicted this will bring a resurgence of the situation -comedy. trend next season. ’ -Producer-star predicted the influx of oaters will mean another record in axings, opining at least 35 series will be pink-slipped. When Arnaz. eyed the tv picture last season, he also predicted there ‘would ‘be 35 axings, and the eventual number exceeded that: ~ oT Commented Arnaz, who with his wife, Lucille Ball, is .starring in five “special” “I Love Lucy” shows this semester: “They are shying away from comedy too much this season. * There are too many westerns, adventure and cops-n-robber series. I still think -a good comedy is the big payoff.. That’s what the people like to see. I have nothing against a good western—we make them ourselves, But they are overdoing them. Arnaz, whose “Lucy” series was on tv six years before he decided} to switch from the weekly half-|hour format to several big shows. a year, scoffed at the ‘so-called (Continued on ontinued bn page’ 4 46) WABD’'s Jumpin area, with seven fv stations, ac try profits on station time sales last year, according to .a--market analysis of video operations issued last week by the Federal Communications Commission. Data shows that New York stations earned $21,500,000 while total for all 267 markets was $146,256,000. New York profits (before taxes) Of this figure, $31,704,000 was for $13,424,000 to local sponsors, and $10,573,000 to networks. Second largest market, In terms of profits, was Chicago (four stations) with. $9,748,000 in earnings, Next ranking were: Philadelphia, New York ‘City metropolitan. counted for about 15% -of indus compared with $52,211,000 of time}. sales by the city’s. seven stations. national -and regional advertising, | Detroit, Los Angeles, Cleveland, With Live TV ers Another of the good breaks. Ci WABD, New York, has been enjoying ‘with the production of live local tv. programs hinges on the. return of a longtime favorite, ‘The |. Children’s Hour.” Horn. & Hardart cafeterias, which sponsored the show for years‘on WRCA and more recently on WRCA-TV, New York, | is buying WABD time to return the show to Gotham viewers. Amateur juve show, which went ‘off. WRCA-plus-ty after better than two. decades with one of the NBC keys or the other, will be. seen Saturdays from 7 to 8 p.m. Formierly, it was skedded Sunday mornings. Show begins Oct. 5. Another big break for WABD is : the"gale-of: its half-hour live “En_ terfainment ‘Press Conference”. to} (Continued on. page 48) San Francisco-Oakland, St. Louis, Washington, D. C., and Kansas Next to New York in time sales was Los Angeleg {seven stations) with $32,873,000, followed by Chi(Continued on page 46). Lardner’s ‘Al’ Series Hollywood, Sept. 24. NBC-TV {is blueprinting a new Yidpix series based on Ring Lard ner’s “You Know Me Al,” with Arthur Lewis developing the proj-{ ect for web coast program . chief Alan Livingston. Lewig has arrived from N.Y. to cast the ‘pilot ‘which-he will produce. .Abe Burrows, who scripted the. pilot, vill serve as: head writer, . om the series, Prepped by NBC-TV IF IT'S FEAGIBLE _ Wired-tv, even more than over-| the-airwaves tollvision, is becom-j ing the No. 1 bugaboo among sta-: tions and networks. in spite of the difficulties and expense of creat ing wired setups, vis a vis the use | of the airwaves for a subscription 1 service, the closed-circuit brand of tollvision is a snowballing spectre jin light of the currently-operating |. Bartlesville experiment. and the next-year Skiatron San Francisco Giants baseball service. What’s got the broadcasters worried is the fact that there’s no way they: can prevent,.or even fight, the. wired-tvy . mushroom, as long as the service proves out economically feasible. The use of the airwaves is a legal issue with the FCC having jurisdiction, and in this area -| the. broadcasters have an opportu-: nity to make themselves heard. But. there’s no jurisdiction inany 4 quarter over wired-tv/ and there's. no way to fight it except via prop aganda, an effort that’s thus far | fallen short principally because the use of closed-circuit has taken the broadcasters by surprise. Cause of the broadcasters’ . concern is simple, Pay-tv, in any form, | wired or not, menaces the baseline of ‘all. television—circulation ef ficiency. Any audience gained by toll-tvy automatically must take au dience away from free-tv, since the | same instrument in the ivingroom, the tv receiver, is involved. It’s not. a case of another medium taking up the public’s non-tv time, but, a‘case of a rival from within taking the audience away from the same medium.. The effect of a successful pay-tv operation in say, tions, is easy to visualize. Assuming that three stations is all that market can support, the introduction ofthe tollvision service will disrupt the economy of all three. Rates are based on circulation, and ‘once the tollvision setup draws away some audience’ from the three free stations, (whether with films or baseball), one or all of them must lower rates. This in turn af| fects the type of programming they ean afford to buy or telecast. When the programming involved is feature films, for:example, and their audience no longer. justifies ~as expenditures as before, the rival tollvision operation could then {outbid them even for old features, compounding the felony even fur ther by depriving the free outlets’ of top programming fare with which to compete. Similarly; it’s a cause for network concern, since the toll-ty setups not only menace independent stations, but strike right at the. heart of some of the kingpin affiliate chain, and a similar breakdown in network rates, due to the circulation weakening, could occur." Until now, even the webs have been unaware of the dangers of wired-tv, having concentrated their fire in the past on the use of the airwaves. CBS, for example, has taken the position-that unless a. toll setup constitutes an invasion of free tv, it’s not concerned. But the picture of Bartlesville and San Francisco fhas changed network thinking radically, as it has local station thinking, where the threat is even closer to home. RALPH EDWARDS, INC. _ NOW A BIG BUSINESS Hollywood, Sept. 24. "Ralph Edwards bas formed a new sales organization to handle all new ‘programs created by his company. William Burch heads up the new wing and Paul Edwards continues in charge of new shows. Current Edwards properties— “This Is Your. Life,” “Truth or Consequences” and “It Could Be You”—will continue to be repped ‘by MCA. Among the projected properties to be sold direct by the’ Edwards organization are “End of. ‘the Rainbow’ and “Fortune, Un & good-sized {market with three television sta-| . GAN T FIGHT TALL ‘GE Theatre's ‘New Sun Punch: Pact Astaire, Laughton, Curtis, et al. WCDA’s U&V Status In probably the first move of its kind, an Albany station will become 2 VHF station with a UHF satellite. FCC okayed WCDA’s switch within the next few months from a U.with two U satellites to a V, but, evidently, because of the rough upstate New York terrain, the Lowell Thomas-owned station has been granted the booster U channel. WCDA-TYV, a CBS affil, will move. to Channel 10, maintaining Channel 19 on Mt. Greylock in order to extend_its — signal to the upper reaches of. New York and parts of Massachusetts. When Js an Educ’ TV Station Com'l? Mpls. Does a Burn ‘Minneapolis, Sept. 24. Twin Cities’ four commercial tv stations’ heads are burned. up and considering what action to take, including a possible request for a FCC adjudication, because the Minneapolis-St. Paul’s new nonprofit educational station, KTCA, at: its very oufset is carrying what these executives construe to be a commercially sponsored program. Thus, they feel, KTCA begins its career by providing competition for them. If passible, they indicate, this objectionable type of operation will be nipped in the bud. Program in question is a series on “Money Matters” which the Minneapolis Farmers-and Mechan ics bank has launched in coopera-, tion with local schools. The banks used large newspaper display ads to publicize the tv series, provoking Stan Hubbard, KSTP-TV president-general man ‘ager, and other station toppers to still more desentment. Pointing out that his station and WCCO-TV and others of the com| ni mercial group not only contributed a’ substantial sum to the fund raised by. public subscription to bring KTCA-TV into being, but also is donating further . money, along with time and services, to aid its operation, Hubbard says he regards the bank tieup as tantamount fo a “double cross.” “What I'd like to say is unprintable,” asserts Hubbard. “The very fact that at each of these programs’ start a picture of the bank is shown and it’s. announced as the sponsor and that. newspaper ads were utilized to make the public; conscious of this stamps commercialism on the series. . “Like the university, schools and others going on KTCATV, the bank pays at the rate of $1 80 an hour for these programs or less than cost. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t alter the situa-. tion any because na other commer cials are used on the shows, other than the bank’s picture and announcement of its name, or that the bank charges.the cost to something other than advertising, as it says it does.” | American Can Buying Doug Edwards News American Can Co., which for a ‘brief span sponsored 2 segment of | the Chet Huntley-Dave. Brinkley “NBC News” and its John Camer on Swa predecessor, has switched allegiances and will begin’ as a’ sponsor of the CBS-TV“Douglas Edwards with the News.” Canco ts due to Start. Oct. 4, as an alternate-Friday ‘sponsor of the newscast, replacing Hazel Bishop, which ‘has bowed out. public Biggest dogfight ever In the Sun ‘day at 9 period Is shaping up for the new season, what with “General Electric Theatre," Dinah Shore and Sid Caesar & Imogene Coca due to battle it out in the Nielsen arena. But the Revueproduced GE showcase, which has easily dominated the time period since its start three years ago (it -| was out of the Nielsen Top 10 only twice all last season), has got a new bag of tricks all wrapped up ‘with which it expects to deliver a: few strategic knockout blows. The GE segment, which has relied for its impact on top stars, has a new bundle of names all. ready to make their television debuts in dramatic roles (in its third season, the show has introduced more Hollywood stars to tv than any other segment). List this year includes Fred. Astaire (who'll do one straight dramatic show-—his first in any medium, and a song-and-dancer), Charles Laughs ton (who’s done readings but not dramatics on tv), Tony Curtis Jeannie Carson, Art Linkletter and Audie Murphy. In addition, James Stewart will be back for his annual one-shot, this time an adaptation of Dicken's “A Christmas.Carol” set against a wéstern background: Tallulah Bankhand, Alan Ladd, Marge & Gower Champion and James & Pamela Mason. Also in the lineup are Melvyn Douglas & Myrna Loy doing “Love Came Late,” with Douglas subbing for William Powell, who was originally set to do the part in a reunion with Miss Toy but who subsequently became Apart from the star angles, the Revue-BBD&O GE operation hag some other tricks up its sleeve. ‘For one thing, it will do its first twopart show later in the season, “Ths Last Town Car.” It’s also shooting it first show overseas, in London, with Miss Carson starring. And Jt’s already completed photogTaphy on 13. shows, even before it hits the air, giving it some strateBic flexibility in terms of slotting specific properties against NBC's Dinah and the yarious specials on the slate. Some nights, when Miss Shore has a particularly powerful lineup or when a major spec entry is scheduled, “GE” will duck with one of.its “B” productions; other hts, it may meet the NBC power head-on In a test of strength. On the scripting side, though the accent this year, more than ever before, will be on originals, there will be one James Thurber piece, “One Is a Wanderer,” with Samuel Taylor. doing the adaptation. Novelist Jerome Weidman is in for one original, “All I Survey,” and. John Cunningham, who did the original story for “High Moon,” NBC Cell-0-Matic To Hit the Road NBC -TV has decided to tour its Cell-O-Matie presentation on the web’s progress during the past year and on its programming strategy for this year. Decision was based on the strong approval by affiliates and agencies registered .during the New York showing week before last at the threeday meeting of the NBC Television Affiliates. Presentation will be made in Chicago Sept. 30 at the Drake Hotel; in Detroit Oct. 14, at the Sheraton-Cadillac; and in Toledo, Pittsburgh and Cleveland, dates not yet set. Audience will consist of agencies, clients and press. Don Durgin, NBC-TV v.p. in charge of sales planning, who delivered the original presentation, will head up the touring version, with sales planning director Dean Shaffner, who helped write the presentation but did not appear in it, Joining Durgin on the performing end,